Japan gov't alerts farmers as bird flu cases increase

TOKYO, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- Japan's agriculture ministry urged poultry farms and local governments on Wednesday to step up efforts to prevent further bird flu outbreaks as the infectious disease spreads rapidly across the country.

As of Wednesday, a total of 27 cases of avian flu were confirmed in 16 prefectures, leading to the culling of over 4 million chickens, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Bird flu cases in Japan are rising at a faster pace than two years ago when a record number of chickens have been culled since the season's first bird flu case was reported at the end of October.

Agriculture Minister Tetsuro Nomura told a ministry meeting that containing infections is important as more people travel around the New Year holidays, urging relevant parties to take preventive measures under the assumption that anywhere around chicken houses is contaminated.

At chicken farms where flu cases were detected, there were many cases in which basic sanitation measures were not taken, Nomura noted, requesting municipalities and livestock farmers fully disinfect their facilities and take other hygiene measures.